About the Company
Viking was an American brand of reel-to-reel tape recorders produced in the United States and marketed primarily to the consumer and mid-range audio market from about 1960 through the late 1960s. The machines were manufactured by Viking of Minneapolis, Inc., originally associated with the Viking Tool & Machine Corporation and later sold to Telex Communications in 1966. The company’s tape recorder business is notable for offering reasonably capable machines during an era when consumer open-reel decks were becoming more sophisticated and competitive. The brand’s presence spanned roughly 1960 to 1968, with some Viking-derived products continuing under Telex into the early 1970s.
Early Viking machines were tube-based designs targeting home users and hobbyists. Examples include vintage decks such as the Viking Model 88, which used vacuum tubes and provided standard tape speeds (3¾ and 7½ inches per second) on seven-inch reels, with three-head transports and modest hi-fi performance typical of consumer analog recorders of that era.
As solid-state technology became viable, Viking adapted its lineup to include solid-state decks in the mid-1960s. A good example of this phase is the Viking Studio 96, produced circa 1964–1966, which was a mid-hi-fi solid-state tape recorder. It offered multiple tape speeds (1 7/8, 3 3/4, 7 1/2 and 15 ips), four-head transport options, and larger reel capacity (up to 10½ inches), reflecting a broader capability than earlier consumer models. Such machines could be ordered in various configurations (mono, stereo, or multi-track) and were positioned as higher-end consumer or prosumer recorders in Viking’s catalog.
Throughout its production life, Viking sold decks in a range of formats and feature sets. Earlier decks often emphasized simple, reliable mechanisms with two-motor drives capable of satisfactory playback and recording, while later machines incorporated improvements in transport stability, head configuration, and electrical design to appeal to demanding home audiophiles. Vintage catalog listings from the period describe Viking Series 85 decks with four-head capabilities, multi-speed operation, and performance suited for both mono and stereo recording.
In 1966 the Viking brand and its tape recorder line were acquired by Telex Communications, a diversified American electronics firm better known for audio and communications equipment. Under Telex ownership, Viking machines continued to appear into the late 1960s, and many Viking designs were eventually integrated or rebadged in later Telex catalogs alongside other tape recorder lines. By the early 1970s, the open-reel segment was evolving rapidly with increasing competition from Japanese manufacturers, and the Viking name gradually faded from tape recorder prominence under the broader Telex umbrella.
In summary, Viking was a U.S. reel-to-reel tape recorder brand active mainly from about 1960 to 1968, known first for tube-based consumer decks and later for solid-state mid-hi-fi tape recorders like the Studio 96. Its products reflected the transition of consumer analog audio technology during the 1960s, and the brand’s acquisition by Telex in 1966 marked its integration into a larger electronics portfolio before the open-reel format’s prominence waned in the 1970s.